A Voyage, Unknown Feelings, and Meat
by GengaJupite
Summary: A Tragedyship as requested by Droory. Felix has been leading a resistance force against the Tuaparang forces, and requests Karst to come to their aid. Piers agrees to transport her for his own reasons, but anything could happen on a two-month voyage. Will unknown feelings rise up from within them? Maybe over a nice supper of meat. Oneshot.


Well, here it is, at the request of my good pal, Droory, a tragedyship. I never thought I would write something for this shipping, but it's here now, so get reading! Note: I didn't proofread because, well, I was being lazy, so I'm sure this thing is riddled with mistakes.

Disclaimer: I don't own Golden Sun.

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_**A Voyage, Unknown Feelings, and Meat**_

A chill wind blew by across the icy waters of the north. For miles around, the only sight to behold was that of the blue ocean waters and the white glaciers scattered meticulously like an archipelago of pure white islands. Very little life existed in these parts of the world, but the lone ship that carefully drifted between icebergs knew exactly where in the Northern Reaches it was headed.

Captain Piers had no trouble navigating his ship around the rather hazardous waters of the north. Not only was he an extremely accomplished sailor, but he was also a Mercury adept, able to bend the very waters around him to his will. Though he rarely had to use this powerful ability, it had gotten him out of a bind or two in the past, and his ship had not experienced a single storm it couldn't handle thanks to it's gallant captain.

But Piers was not the only Mercury adept aboard this ship, and he gave a rather uninterested glance over to the young girl leaning against a table while she shamelessly stared at him with dreamy eyes.

"Nowell," he spoke calmly, as he always did with the daughter of his close friend, Mia, "perhaps you would be more entertained keeping watch from the crow's nest. I am certainly capable of watching the seas in here on my own, but having a competent set of eyes up above is always an asset, would you not agree?"

"Mm, no, I think you'd be better off with me in here," she brushed off his suggestion without batting an eye. "Besides, it's chilly up there. I might need someone to keep me warm."

"I have many a blanket and fur coat stashed in my dresser if you should wish to use them," he attempted to redirect her unsubtle advances. "If you wish, I will permit you to enter my quarters to retrieve one."

"Oh, but I'd be so uncomfortable going in your room by myself. I think it would be better if you showed me around," she teased, letting out a slight giggle in attempt to reel him in.

However, Piers remained the stoic, smiling emptily towards the waters before him. "Ah, then perhaps you could use one of you own. Did you not purchase some at the last port we docked at? I seem to recall carrying a great many of your shopping bags and boxes."

"Heehee, and you looked very manly doing so," she giggled, stepping towards the unmoving sailor. Latching onto his arm, she lightly leaned her head against his shoulder. "Anyway, it's much warmer in here with you. I don't even need a blanket or anything! If I could just stay like this until we go to sleep, that would be perfect. Maybe you could carry me to my room if I start dozing off on you."

Piers clenched his teeth in slight discomfort. The Lemurian really had no qualms with Nowell, but he did not see her as a romantic interest. Not only was he a few hundred years older than her, but she was also the daughter of one of his closest friends! Why, relative to the age he would be considered in Lemuria compared to the outside world, it would be far more appropriate for him to be with someone her mother's age!

Breathing deeply out of his nostrils, Piers tried his best to ignore her nuzzling against his side. The two of them had encounters like this nearly every day, and it had grown tiresome to try suppressing her advances. Being as young as she was, she had ten times more energy than he, and he simply didn't have the heart to take a stern tone with her. He almost looked forward to monster battles, as they gave him a chance to force her away, though she would insistently heal and cater to him after defeating even the simplest of foes.

"Where are we going, anyway?" she asked, lifting her head to look out to the waters ahead. "Is there really a town all the way up here? All I see is snow."

Piers smiled as the beginnings of an idea began to form in his head. If he could pull this off, it might very well keep Nowell at bay, or at least force her to advance upon him less aggressively.

"Ah, that's right, you have never been farther north than your hometown of Imil, correct?" Nowell shook her head in response. "There is a village in the far Northern Reaches known as Prox. It is home to a…unique brand of people. We are actually travelling there to pick up a…ahem…very dear friend of mine."

"Oh, is he someone I've heard of?" she asked, curiosity lacing her voice as she settled back on his shoulder.

"_She _is the Proxian warrior Karst; a woman of whom I have…special relations with…"

He felt Nowell's hands tense around his arm a bit, and he smiled inwardly knowing that the first phase of his plan had worked. Now the only problem he faced was knowing that Karst would probably kill him for ever pretending something like a relationship between the two of them existed. In truth, Piers had only spoken to Karst a handful of times, and that was thirty years ago! He hadn't been lying to say they were going to pick her up, but the reasons were…not so in his favour.

In actuality, Felix had requested Piers to bring Karst to the front lines where the Tuaparang and a resistance force had already begun fighting. Most of the battles were still relatively small, but following the events of the Eclipse, it was likely that it would turn into an all-out war soon; considering the fatal losses suffered by the Tuaparang.

It was late afternoon when Piers' ship docked next to the village of Prox. Extending his hand only as a gentlemanly act, he helped guide Nowell down the gangplank, and the two of them entered the village together.

"You're late," growled a man with a husky voice and tank-like build.

"Nice to see you too, Agatio," Piers bowed slightly to the intimidating figure. Nowell stared at the gruff warrior with wide eyes and her jaw slightly ajar. She had never seen a person look the way he did, what with the scales and green, well, scales!

Leading them to the inn, Agatio held the door open for the two of them, and the Mercury adepts quickly passed by him to meet up with Karst. The door shut behind them as Agatio stood guard outside the door, more as a formality than for the chance of anyone coming to stay at the inn.

The inn was quite empty, so it was a good place to meet on business, unlike the busier towns that were always crowded from dawn 'til dusk. Piers instantly eyed the redheaded Proxian sitting alone at a table, and began making his way over. Nowell hesitantly followed after, already feeling intimidated by the atmosphere of the room.

"Greetings, Karst," said Piers. "Are you well?"

"You're late," she repeated Agatio. "You were supposed to be here right at noon. What took you so long?!"

"Ah, well, you see, it is rather difficult to tell the time with all the cloud cover around this area," he said warmly, taking a seat when he realized she would not be getting to her feet. "I beg your forgiveness, it does not do good to keep a lady such as yourself waiting."

"Pah, you always did have a silver tongue," she spat, though she gave a sharp chuckle along with it. "Who's this kid?"

"Oh, pardon me," he said, gesturing for Nowell to come a bit closer, as she was standing a few steps away from the table. "This is Nowell, the daughter of Mia who you should remember as…_his_ cousin."

Karst's eyes grew dark, and she instantly shot a menacing look over to the young girl, who squeaked a bit at the expression. "Leave us for a second, won't you, girlie?"

Nowell nodded shakily and quickly sped out of the inn to stand with Agatio, whom she was also not too fond of spending time with, but didn't exactly have much of a choice.

"So, tell me, old man, why've you got a kid with you? I know why you're here, but what's with that?" Karst snorted. Her personality and mannerisms had turned from harsh to something resembling brusque over the years, and Piers couldn't say for sure which way he preferred her. Perhaps her lack of missions over these thirty years had smoothed the harshness from her spirit.

"Well, I am in a bit of a predicament, you see, and I was hoping you might be able to provide me with some assistance while we are travelling to the front lines."

Karst took a slurp of her ale, tapping at her chin with a sharp-nailed finger. "I'm listening."

Inwardly sighing in relief, Piers continued with his tale of woe. "It seems that the young girl has grown especially fond of me, to the point where her infatuation has become borderline aggressive," he explained, showing the Proxian the deep red hand marks on his arm from where Nowell had been gripping earlier. "While I understand it would be invading on your and Felix's relationship, I was hoping that you could be my relationship partner in pretense; at least until we have reached our destination."

The Proxian pondered again, shifting her eyes around the room while she thought out an answer. "What's in this for me?"

"Passage on my ship and the satisfaction of ruining a love struck girl's hopes and dreams," he responded in an attempt to match the things that Karst might enjoy most from going with this.

Karst's sharp teeth showed as she grinned at the Lemurian. "You've got some nerve, you know that? But I'll bite; it's not like there'll be a lot to keep me entertained on this boat ride. How long is this thing, anyway?"

"About two months," he answered nonchalantly. "Give or take a few weeks depending on the weather."

"Heh, well you better pucker up, buttercup, because we're gonna be breaking some hearts on this trip," she cackled, standing as she downed her mug and picked up a single trunk by her feet.

"Well then, shall we?" Piers said, also standing and offering his arm to Karst.

She sneered at the gesture but took it anyway, digging her nails lightly into his arm. "You're lucky you're a looker, but if you try anything funny, I'll cut off your fingers."

"I wouldn't dream of it, my dear," he chuckled as they made their way out of the inn.

As the two of them waltzed out of the inn, they were met with odd looks from both Nowell and Agatio. The young Mercury adept seemed upset, as she clearly didn't want any competition from someone as brutish as Karst appeared to be, especially since she was nothing like the Proxian, which meant that Piers may never be attracted to her! Agatio, on the other hand, was simply confused as to why Karst, Felix's girlfriend, would be hanging onto a different man's arm in an affectionate way that betrayed her normal mannerisms.

"Nowell, shall we be on our way?" Piers asked her politely.

"Hm? Oh, sure," she replied a little dumbstruck, trying to figure out a way to win over Piers' heart.

"Alright, then, let's get going!" Karst exclaimed, digging her nails a bit deeper into the uncaring Lemurian's arm.

"Thank you, Agatio. Until we meet again," Piers gave the warrior a nod.

"Uh…sure, safe voyage and all that," Agatio mumbled, still confused by what his old companion was doing; perhaps she was planning on ripping his arm off, judging by the way her nails were digging into him…

By the time the three of them had reached the ship, it was already dark, and they would have to leave quickly if they wanted to get out before the river froze over for the night. Hurrying up the gangplank, they all filed into the control room and Piers immediately began maneuvering the ship out the way they came.

"Um, Piers?" Nowell said timidly, nervously eyeing Karst like she might attack the young girl if she said something wrong.

"What is it, Nowell?" the captain replied kindly, noticing the change in her usual confident tone.

"I-I was just wondering," she began to stutter more now that Karst had begun sharpening her scythe with a whetstone, "w-where will Ms. Karst be staying? All the c-cabins are filled with supplies for the r-resistance, right?"

"Ah, I had not stopped to think about that," he mused, literally not having thought about clearing one of those rooms out for another person. "I suppose she could always sleep in my quarters for now-"

"NO!" the girl screamed before quickly covering her mouth and turning beet red. Piers gave her an odd look following her outburst, but Karst simply smirked while she continued sharpening her scythe.

"That's a generous offer, Captain," the Proxian chuckled, examining her weapon before strapping the scythe to her back, "but I think it'd be more appropriate for me to stay with the girl. After all, that's what you were implying, wasn't it, girlie?"

Nowell was too frightened to respond properly, her face shifting from its beet red colour to a ghostly white. "I…I…I…I'll go get the room ready and start cleaning out a different one!" she squeaked, dashing out of the cabin without waiting for a response.

"Ohoho, I can tell this is going to be fun already," Karst cackled, licking her lips almost psychotically.

"Please do not be too hard on the poor girl," Piers sighed, keeping his eye on the icebergs. "I simply need you to distance her from me, not scare her straight into my arms out of fear."

"Eh, you worry too much, Captain. I'm just having a bit of fun with the girl, and I'll make sure she isn't too traumatized by the time I get off this thing."

"I suppose that is the most I can get out of you," he sighed again, shaking his head as he snaked the ship between glaciers.

"Just make sure you don't fall in love with me, 'kay, toots?"

"I would not worry about that, Karst," he chortled a bit. _But she is rather different from how I remember her thirty years ago._

After about a week, the voyage became a bit easier on the two Mercury adepts, as the air began to warm up. Karst, of course, was not bothered either way due to her being able to deal with any sort of extreme temperatures.

During this time, Nowell had bustled about frantically, trying to move supplies out of one of the cabins so that either she or Karst could take that room. Unfortunately for her, the only place Karst had to sleep at night was in her room, because she would be damned if Piers and this other woman shared a bedroom! It hardly mattered, anyway, as Karst typically did not sleep until very late at night and would wake up far before Nowell did.

"Good morning, Karst," Piers greeted as the Proxian entered the small dining area. "Will you be joining me for breakfast?"

"Heh, do I ever?" she snorted, grabbing a waterskin before turning to leave. "What's on the agenda today?"

Piers glanced at her in surprise, having thought she left within moments of entering as she usually did. "Oh, well, we must stop in at one of the port towns to restock on a few things. You are free to do as you please, but we will only need to stay for a few hours at most."

"So, you have no plans to keep the little water flea from sticking to you?" Karst said as she took a swig of her water.

"You refer to Nowell?" Piers asked rhetorically. "With you around, she has been rather subdued as of late, which is exactly what I wished. I believe I can grant her the luxury of one day, assuming she wants to accompany me."

Karst began coughing as she choked on her water, clearly laughing at the Lemurian's naïveté. "You really are a dolt, you know that?" she sneered, taking a few breaths. "That girl has been waiting for a day alone with you ever since I got on this ship. If anything, she'll be pushing even harder to make you hers."

Piers thought about this for a moment as he sat down with his tea. "Is that so? What do you propose I do? Take you out for the day to deter her actions?"

"I'm not opposed."

At this, Piers began choking on his drink, having not expected Karst to reply in such a way. Once he'd caught his breath, he cast the smirking Proxian a shocked look, wondering what she could be planning. Of course, he also wasn't opposed to the idea, but it seemed unnatural of Karst to be so willing.

"Eep!" a voice squeaked from the staircase, causing both people in the kitchen to look up at them. "I-I mean, good morning, Ms. Karst," Nowell's nervous voice rang from the stairs. "A-and you too, Piers."

"Morning, girlie," Karst snickered, stepping aside so the girl could come into the room. "Captain here says he's gonna take me out while we're picking up supplies today. You coming along?"

"O-Oh," she responded a bit deflated, "I, um, think it would be better if I finished clearing out Ms. Karst's room instead."

"That should be fine," Piers said before Karst tried to toy with the girl any further. "Karst and I will only be a few hours."

With that, the three of them agreed and went about their normal morning routine.

黄金の太陽 – 黄金の太陽 – 黄金の太陽

"Karst, may I ask why it is that you are accompanying me?"

"What's that supposed to mean?! You said you were taking me out, didn't you?!"

"Well, yes, but I believe that was only to keep Nowell away. Since she is not here, you may do as you please."

"Look, I don't have anything else to do, so I'm going to follow you around, you got that?!"

Piers sighed as he halfheartedly agreed to the unnecessary company. It wasn't as though he wanted her to go away, but he simply saw no reason for her to stay with him, and it would likely make his business take longer than he hoped it would.

The two of them wandered down the seaside stalls, close enough to each other that it was clear they were together but far enough that one could tell they were not _together_.

"Hmm, I'll take two of these," Piers said to a salesman who was selling fish the size of Agatio. "Have them brought over to that ship there," he said as he handed the salesman his money.

"Gah, only two?! Fish slave, make it three!" Karst spat to the salesman.

"That is no way to go about business," Piers sighed as he apologized to the agitated man and handed him the money for a third fish. "Truly we did not need a third fish, Karst. It will go bad before we have the chance to eat it."

"You have never seen the sheer appetite of a Proxian, fool," she growled, marching towards the next stall in their sights.

"If you would dine with Nowell and I, perhaps I would understand better why you are requesting such a ridiculous amount of food!" Piers argued as he jogged after the vicious woman.

"Shut up and make sure I have enough to eat," she said before adding, "then I might consider sitting down with the two of you."

Piers chuckled a bit at her strange way of getting what she wanted. However, it was a start, and he would have to get used to it for the next two months. Besides, it wasn't as though he minded all that much…

黄金の太陽 – 黄金の太陽 – 黄金の太陽

Many days and nights went by, and the three crewmembers had grown as close as…well, as close as one might have expected them to. Nowell was still just as fearful of Karst, and, despite having finished clearing out one of the rooms, she was still too afraid to inform Karst that she wished to have the room to herself. The Proxian, of course, knew that the young girl had finished clearing out her room, but decided it would be more fun to wait until Nowell informed her of it. Piers was simply satisfied that his plan was working out well, giving no notice to the room situation since it did not affect him.

On this particular afternoon, Piers had relinquished the wheel to Karst, at her insistence. They had argued about it for some time, but Karst would not take no for an answer, telling him that controlling a ship of this size for this long would be too hard on his body. Realizing he would not win the fight, Piers agreed and now found himself lazing about in the crow's nest.

He found the whole situation to be rather odd in itself. Karst had never shown sympathy for him, even if they had become rather well acquainted over these past few weeks. In fact, he'd found her company rather enjoyable, assuming she wasn't hungry or in an overly dour mood. She reminded him almost of Garet, had the man been a bit more savage, not to mention female. It was like an odd sensation of nostalgia, yet he knew that these feelings were completely different than those experienced during reminiscence.

"How strange," he muttered aloud, watching the clouds lazily drifting by. "I suppose this must be what Felix sees in her. She is certainly not an awful person once you get to know her."

"I beg to differ," Nowell's voice sounded from the ladder. Piers looked over to see the young healer plop herself next to him to watch the clouds as well. "She's terrifying, Piers. Are you really…you know…_with_ her?"

Piers gazed back up at the sky, breathing deeply as he did so. He disliked lying to Nowell, for she was still a sweet, innocent young girl, but he was doing so for both their sakes. In any case, she wasn't nuzzling quite so closely as she would have done when it was just the two of them.

"Of course," he said quickly. "Do you not believe that someone like me would get along well with someone like Karst?"

"It's not that," Nowell sighed, glancing briefly at Piers' face. "I mean, I've seen you two having fun with each other and stuff. It just looks to me like, I dunno, like you're more like friends than lovers."

Upon uttering that last word, she squeaked a bit and covered her mouth, blushing profusely as Piers' gaze landed directly on her profile.

"Does it truly seem as such?" Piers asked, though he was simply voicing his thoughts aloud as opposed to actually asking her. Nowell nodded, keeping her hands over her mouth. "How odd, I suppose I always felt our relationship was natural the way it was. I should have a word with her."

With that, Piers lightly stepped over the blushing girl's body and descended the ladder, quickly making his way toward the control room. He couldn't explain why he was doing so, but he had another proposition for Karst. Was he being selfish in doing this, or were his actions justified? Not for a long time had he felt conflicted like this, and before he knew it he had entered the room where Karst controlled the ship.

"I thought I told you to go rest up," Karst said bitterly, keeping her eyes forward. "I'll let you take over after we eat. You better be making a huge meal for me for doing this."

"Nowell is catching on," he blurted without thinking, and instantly regretted letting his thoughts run wild. Why did he say that, anyway? She certainly didn't seem to have caught on…

"Ah, looks like the jig is up, then," Karst chuckled, giving him a passing glance. "Guess I'm only here for intimidation."

"N-…No, not exactly…" Piers said, trying to organize his thoughts in a regular fashion. "She does not suspect that we are simply pretending to have relations, but she has noted that we do not act as…ahem…lovers would."

"Well, yeah," Karst grimaced, making gagging noises after. "You think I would actually be caught getting all goo-goo-eyed with you?"

"Are you saying you do when no one is looking?" Piers asked, genuinely believing that that was what she meant.

"What?! I... No! That's not… I never… JUST GET OUT OF HERE AND REST, YOU SEA RAT!"

Jumping at the unexpected outburst, Piers rushed out of the control room without making his proposition, leaving Karst to breathe heavily to herself. For some reason, she felt fatigued now, and her stomach was twisted in knots as though Piers had fed her some bad fish.

"I…love Felix…don't I?"

黄金の太陽 – 黄金の太陽 – 黄金の太陽

The next few days were spent in quite a bit of discomfort for the two elder adepts. Neither would speak during meals, and they seemed to avoid each other whenever possible. Of course, this contradicted the entire situation planned by the two of them, but Piers simply could not bring himself to say what he'd meant to on that day, granted, Karst did not appear all too eager to see him either.

In most cases, this is when Nowell would have seized her chance to take back the man she'd fought to get, but with the two of them acting so distant, she was more afraid of approaching him than ever before. Perhaps it was Karst's angry presence or the fact that Piers would hardly even acknowledge the young girl's existence when she attempted speaking to him; whatever the case, she was quite hesitant to act upon her feelings at this time.

Piers tossed and turned in his bed, trying desperately to find a position that would lull him into a peaceful sleep. After about an hour of trying, he gave up, sighing as he blinked his eyes open and stared at the wooden ceiling of the captain's quarters. He had been through this routine for the past few nights, and these sleepless evenings were beginning to take their toll on his body.

"Perchance a walk would help cure my wakefulness," he murmured, slipping his bare feet into some boots and grabbing a robe as he exited the room.

Keeping a hand on the wall for support in the minimal light, Piers traversed himself around a turn and up a set of stairs until the moonlight streaming in from the door's window illuminated the hall. Gently pushing open the door, he stepped out into the brisk night air.

A light breeze blew by as Piers hastily tied the front of his kimono-like robe shut. It wasn't particularly cold out, but he had not bothered to throw a shirt on before leaving his room, so the robe was his only layer separating his skin from the misty night.

"Hm? What is that?" the Lemurian muttered to himself as the silhouette of a figure stood at the bow of his ship. Oddly enough, monsters typically climbed aboard only during the daytime, and he hadn't had to worry about sea creatures attacking at night for a few years now.

Since he had no weapon, Piers grabbed the closest object within reach. Sadly, it was just a mop, so if whatever was at the front of his ship turned out to be hostile, he would likely have to depend on his psynergy. Keeping that in mind, he took a deep breath and stepped out onto the open deck to see what it was. His steps were silent as he crept along, until he happened to step on a mildly creaky floorboard.

The sound of metal slicing through air followed the creaking almost instantaneously, and Piers suddenly froze in panic as a long, curved blade sat only mere millimeters from his throat.

"Oh, it's you," a dark, female voice spoke.

"Karst? What are you doing out here?" Piers asked as she re-strapped the weapon on her back. "It's very late."

"I'm always out here this late," she said flatly, turning back to face the ocean. "What about you; shouldn't you be sleeping, Captain?"

"I could not," he said, leaning on the railing about a meter away from her. "I have been having some trouble doing so as of late."

"Something bothering you?" she questioned, brushing a few stray hairs out of her face.

"…Nothing in particular…at least, not that I am consciously aware of," Piers responded, shrugging as he turned to her. "And you?"

"What about me?" she spat, shifting her crimson eyes to meet his golden ones.

"Surely you do not expect me to believe you come here each evening without reason," he said simply.

"And where else would I go?" she asked, kicking a stray pebble off into the water. "It's not like staying cooped up in my room would help me think any better."

"But you have been thinking about something," he said, catching her on that slight slip-up.

Karst lightly cursed and berated herself, crossing her arms as she huffed in annoyance. "Yes, I have had some things on my mind lately. Satisfied?"

Piers gave her a gentle smile before looking out to the low moon sitting slightly above the horizon. "If you have need of a listener, I am here."

"Psh, I can deal with my own problems, worm," she snarled, resting her chin on the railing. "Besides, what makes you think I would want _you_ to listen to me?"

"Nothing, really," he chuckled lightly for no apparent reason, "I just thought that you might wish to release some of your contained stress. It does no good to keep it bottled up. Ah, well, if you do not wish to tell me, perhaps I shall go back to my quarters and try to sleep once again."

As he stood straight and began to step away, Karst's hand firmly gripped around the Lemurian's wrist, much to his surprise.

"I'm…confused about my feelings…" the Proxian murmured extremely quietly.

"I beg your pardon?" Piers said, literally only making out the "I'm" in her statement.

"Clean out the grime from your ears, sea rat!" she spat, rapidly turning towards him. "I said I'm confused about my feelings," she snarled through her teeth.

Piers stopped for a moment, trying to piece together exactly what she meant by that. With a typical woman, he knew that it could mean any number of things, but with Karst it was a bit harder to decipher, what with her not usually expressing any feelings besides hatred, anger, bitterness, or any other sort of negative emotion.

"Does this…have anything to do with Felix?" he pondered, hoping that he wasn't hitting a sensitive spot with her.

Karst bit her lip, wondering if she should continue with this or not. She knew that this wasn't like her at all, but she had to tell someone. Unfortunately, she'd never really had anyone to speak to about her feelings, as Felix was away more often than he was around and Agatio wouldn't know how to respond. In this case, however, she couldn't speak to Nowell, leaving Piers as the only option, albeit a rather undesirable one.

"Yes," she grumbled bitterly, turning her face away while still keeping a grip on the man's wrist.

"I see," Piers said gently, turning back to face his body towards her and lightly removing her hand from his arm. "You have been separated for a long time. I presume you are…questioning your feelings for him?"

"I…wouldn't say questioning… It's more like the spark is gone," she sighed, turning back to lean on the railing. "I have not seen him in almost a year, and the only reason I am going to see him now is because he has requested me to help with the resistance."

It was rather odd to see this vulnerable, more feminine side to Karst. Though Piers was obviously very aware that she was a woman, a rather attractive one at that, he had never stopped to realize that she probably had similar thoughts and emotions to that of other women.

"That must be difficult," he reasoned, taking his spot on the railing once again. "So these diminishing feelings of yours… Is there someone else?"

For the first time in her life, Karst felt her cheeks begin to heat up from embarrassment. She never expected something like this to happen, but here she was, stuck in a predicament in which someone had come between her and Felix. If anyone else had even brought up such a preposterous idea, she would have brandished her scythe and sliced some part of their body by now, but she could not in this instance.

"And what would you say to me if there were?" she dodged around a direct answer for safe measure.

Piers simply smiled, however, keeping his eyes out on the water. "I would tell you to follow your heart, but perhaps someone like you does not wish to hear such hopelessly romantic advice. In your case, I have not an answer, dearest Karst."

With that, the Lemurian stood and left to go to bed, unstopped by the Proxian woman who thought over his words with the utmost diligence.

"Follow my heart…" she muttered, turning to look at the spot where the aqua-haired man had stood moments ago. "Someone like me… Heh, I suppose I'm not so different from any other woman. Pathetic…"

黄金の太陽 – 黄金の太陽 – 黄金の太陽

The awkward relationships that had formed over those past few days were long forgotten as the journey stretched over its first month and one week. In the time since their nightly encounter, Piers and Karst had slowly warmed up to each other again, going back to their usual routine of captaining the ship and intimidating Nowell respectively.

"You and Ms. Karst have been goofing off a lot lately, Piers," Nowell scolded, rather annoyed that the two others had gotten close once again.

"Oh?" Piers questioned, pulling in towards the port so they could restock on food and water again. "I do not believe we have been quite so leisurely as you say, Nowell. Why, we are often too busy taking turns handling the ship to have time for such trivial entertainment."

"Yeah, but you're always joking around and laughing with her. You never do that kind of stuff with me!"

"Oh, come now, surely you do not believe that I spend _all_ my free time doing such things. Besides, the matters we discuss would not interest you, as they are discussions amongst adults," he explained, though he knew that he and Karst had been spending quite a bit of time with silly conversations and such; she tended to be a bit more…morbid when it came to these exchanges, however.

"Hey, that's no fair, Piers," Nowell whined, placing her hands on her hips as her pigtails bounced. "I'm basically an adult! I'll be seventeen in just a few months, I'll have you know!"

"My, my, what a mature young lady," Karst's mocking tone rang out as the Proxian entered the control room. "I suppose someone as mature as you would just _love_ to discuss the nature of political idiocies, the tragedy of death and warfare, and the blood-soaked ground we'll be arriving at in just a few weeks; after all, that's what we've been discussing, hasn't it, Captain?"

Piers chuckled a bit as he slowly moved the ship forward before dropping both anchors. "More or less."

Nowell grumbled something incomprehensible before trudging off towards the exit and uttering a simple "see you when you get back" and marching off to her cabin.

"Well, I expected more of a fight out of her this time," Piers mused, watching as the dock crew began tying his ship to the pier. "Shall we, Karst?"

"Ugh, do you always have to ask me that way," she complained, though a smirk was etched across her face. "Let's just get our crap and keep going."

Just like they had one month ago, the two of them wandered around the seaside stalls, browsing each one for things they may potentially need for the rest of their journey. Usually the amount of food that Piers had purchased back at the first port would have lasted three people until they arrived at the front lines, but he had not taken into account Karst's vivacious appetite.

"Yes, this dried moose meat should last us for quite a long time," Piers said as he examined the huge chunks of meat at the hunter's stall. "I believe one moose should be enough."

"_Ahem,_" Karst cleared her throat as Piers began weighing the gold necessary for an entire moose-worth of meat.

"On second thought, make that two moose," Piers sighed, weighing in a second bag. After a hefty amount of money was relinquished, the two adepts watched some of the workers begin hauling the meat off to Piers' nearby ship. "You realize that is roughly one thousand kilograms of meat, do you not?!"

"Perfect, sounds like we'll be having an adequate amount of food from here until our destination," Karst twittered, carelessly perusing the next shop over. "You should probably get some bread as well, Piers."

Though he shook his head at the idea of spending even more money on outrageous amounts of food, he was more surprised by Karst actually using his name. Actually, to be perfectly honest, he was happy to hear it come from her mouth. It sounded natural on her tongue, and he hoped that she would use his name more often from here on out.

As the two of them finished their purchases and began heading towards the ship, a thought dawned on Piers, and this sudden realization made him feel strange in a melancholic sort of way.

Karst would be leaving him soon.

Despite the extra stop at this port, they were actually ahead of schedule, and would be arriving at the front lines anywhere from two to three weeks. He had always known this time would come, yet he never figured it would arrive so suddenly. In as little as a fortnight Karst would be leaving, possibly for a number of years before he could see her again.

But why was this an issue? He had lived perfectly fine without speaking to her for thirty years; what had changed his feelings in just this month and one week? Had he truly come to enjoy her company so much in just this short period of time? Could he really say that he knew her after only journeying for a month? True, they had gotten closer, but could he really consider her a friend?

"Hey, what are you looking so dazed about?" Karst jeered as she began filling a wooden mug with ale.

Piers blinked a few times to realize that they had already boarded his ship and were now in the kitchen area. It looked much fuller with all of the moose meat, bread rolls, two barrels of ale, and everything else they had recently purchased.

"Oh…I, er…was thinking that we will arrive at our destination in only a few weeks," he sputtered out quickly.

"Yeah…I guess we'll be going our separate ways pretty soon," she said, gulping her drink and taking a seat on one of the stools. "It's funny, I'd gotten pretty used to living on your crummy old ship. It'll feel weird getting rid of my sea legs."

"Yes, well…we can worry about such affairs later. For now, I shall begin preparing our supper," he said, forcing himself to occupy his mind with something other than the separation from Karst.

Unbeknownst to Piers, Karst watched his back as he fumbled around with the kitchen utensils, and she quickly rubbed her eye before anyone could notice the slight shimmering…

黄金の太陽 – 黄金の太陽 – 黄金の太陽

Those two weeks passed by more quickly than Piers or Karst wanted them to. Before they knew it, it was the eve of their final night on the ship, and they would be arriving at the safe port of the front lines a little past noon on the morrow. And just as he had been when he was troubled before, Piers was suffering with another bout of insomnia.

Staring out the large window in his bed quarters, Piers could see lights coming from multiple encampments on the landmass in the distance. Over there, resistance troops fought to push back the Tuaparang. Over there, men and women were risking their lives to protect the lands that were rightfully theirs. Over there, Felix awaited the arrival of Karst, his beloved…

Squeezing his eyes shut, Piers tried to stop thoughts of the redheaded Proxian from crossing his mind, but the more he tried to stop them, the more they appeared. Had he truly come to feel so strongly for her in a mere two months? This had all begun as a ruse to quell Nowell, so why was he feeling like it had become anything more than that?

To think that the vicious woman who tried to kill him was now the woman whom he was harbouring feelings for was too much to comprehend. Frustrated with his inability to focus on something else, Piers slipped on his boots and robe, and quietly stepped out of the room. If he were fortunate, Karst would not be out there waiting for him again.

As luck would have it, Karst was actually in her room on this evening, trying in vain to get a good night's sleep before being thrust into a battleground she wasn't even sure she wanted to be at. When she first departed on this voyage, her thirst for battle would not be quenched until she was able to destroy the invaders of this land and rejoin her beloved Felix. Now, however, all she wanted to do was lengthen the time she had on this ship with Piers (and even the little water flea to some extent).

Where had the passion she carried when she left Prox gone? Where was her lust for the blood of her enemies, the love for her man, the very ideals she'd held onto all her life? Everything she thought she had was gone, replaced by thoughts of a gallant ship captain who sailed the world. He was free to roam the seas, never having to settle anywhere, and she envied his life.

No, she didn't envy his life; she wanted to remain a part of it.

She had no idea when her duty to Felix had become tainted with the desire to sail the world with Piers, but she couldn't deny that it was what she wanted now more than anything. The freedom to explore, the excitement of discovery, the feeling of something genuine…these were things she didn't know existed when she was tied down to Felix. In reality, she still was attached to him, chained to the love she no longer held for him.

Angrily throwing the sheets off of her body, Karst sat up from her bed and rubbed her face. This room felt so claustrophobic, and if she could just go see him, even if only for a moment or two, it would satisfy her enough to hopefully fall asleep.

Before she could even stop and think, the Proxian found herself stepping barefoot out into the halls in naught but the sleeping robe that Piers had provided each room with. As she quietly tiptoed past Nowell's room, she found herself standing before the large doors of the captain's quarters. She lifted her hand up to knock, but the thought that he may be sleeping stopped her from doing so. What right did she have to wake him at this ungodly hour? Though she knew he wasn't the type of person to do so, it was possible he would become irritated by her waking him and tell her to go back to sleep.

However, she could not ignore her insistent need to see him, so, as stealthily as she could, she turned the knob and slowly pushed open the door. Peeking her head inside, it became clear that he wasn't around, but rather than closing the door to search for him on deck, she stepped into his room. Being that it was the captain's quarters, the design and furniture within the room were much more extravagant than in both her and Nowell's rooms. Piers' belongings were neatly organized in places where they needed to be, and countless travel journals, maps, and charts were scattered across a rather large desk.

She moved to look in one of the journals, but thought better of it, knowing just how precious one's privacy could be. Continuing to look around, she noticed a medium-sized painting hanging on the wall. Approaching it, she recognized the nine people in it as Kraden the scholar and the eight adepts that had nearly killed her and Agatio back at Mars Lighthouse all those years ago. In the painting, Piers and Felix happily stood next to each other, not nearly as animated as some of the others appeared, but still smiling quite warmly. Her heart sank a bit as she examined the picture longer.

Piers and Felix were very good friends, and it was likely that what she was doing now would hurt at least one of them.

The obvious one was Felix, as he would find out that she had tried to act upon her newfound feelings for his close friend. Piers, however, would also feel guilty for turning her down to avoid hurting his friend. No, she didn't even know how Piers felt about all of this. It was likely he would simply turn her down because he wasn't interested in her. He would do it politely, but he would definitely feel guilty, and it would be all her fault.

Taking one last glance at the painting, Karst began to leave before a blank piece of parchment and quill caught her eye. If she wanted to get out of Piers' room before he returned, she would have to make this quick. Writing with all the haste she could spare in this minimal light, she dried the message and folded it in half before quietly rushing back to her room.

黄金の太陽 – 黄金の太陽 – 黄金の太陽

"You have all of your belongings?" Piers asked the next day, holding back his sorrow as he and Nowell saw Karst off at the top of the gangplank.

"Yeah, yeah, stop pestering me," she responded in a lively manner, though she was also holding back her sadness. "It's not like I had much stuff."

"Yes, well, I simply wished to make sure you did not forget anything. It could be quite some time before I am able to return something you have forgotten."

"Whatever, these unloading slaves will clear out everything except your and the girlie's rooms, so they'll end up grabbing it if I did leave something behind."

"I suppose that is true," Piers sighed, glancing at Nowell and then back at the Proxian. "Well then, farewell, Karst. Until we meet again," he said, holding out his hand for her to shake.

"Yeah…I guess the trip here wasn't totally horrible," she responded in a downcast tone that betrayed the playfulness of her words. "Take care, little lady."

"Y-You too," Nowell spoke nervously, still never having gotten used to Karst's menacing personality.

The two Mercury adepts watched as Karst hesitantly released Piers' hand from her grip and slowly descended the gangplank. Down at the bottom, Felix waved to the three of them, receiving a half-hearted wave in response from Piers and Karst. When she had reached the bottom, the Proxian gave them one final look before heading off with Felix, not looking back again.

"Piers?" Nowell prodded the Lemurian who was staring after the two down below. "Are you very sad about her leaving?"

Closing his eyes and letting out a single sharp breath from his nostrils, he smiled and turned to Nowell. "Of course I am slightly upset to see such a dear companion leave, but such is the way of life sometimes. Now, if you would please excuse me, I shall be in my room until the supplies have been completely unloaded."

Without waiting for a response, Piers marched off to his room at a brisk pace, leaving Nowell by herself at the gangplank.

When he had reached the captain's quarters, Piers shut the door behind him and went to look out the window with the vain hope that he would be able to see Karst and Felix walking somewhere down there. Of course, they were probably far enough away that they would just appear as specks by now. Sighing at this epiphany, the Lemurian sadly started for his bed when an unfamiliar piece of folded parchment caught his eye. Making his way over to the desk, he opened it up to read the contents that were clearly in someone else's handwriting.

_Piers,_

_I'm sure you won't see this until I'm off the ship, so I will make it brief in case you wish to depart. I wanted to say that I enjoyed myself quite a bit on this journey with you and the girl. It isn't very often that I get to leave Prox, and I'm sure that the journey was much more fun than the destination will prove to be._

_I wanted to thank you for all you've done for me over these past two months. Sure, I had my fun scaring the girl and messing around with things, but what made the voyage so enjoyable was you, Captain. I really enjoyed your company, and I'm glad we had the chance to meet on better terms after all these years._

_Anyway, I'm expecting to see you again, so don't you dare go dying on me! I can assure you that I won't be kicking the bucket anytime soon, so you better cook me up a feast when you come back again!_

_/\L/\o/\v/\e/\_

_Karst_

Piers couldn't prevent his laughter from bubbling forth at the last part of her letter. It also appeared as though she'd attempted to scribble out the word 'Love', so as to prevent herself from any embarrassment. However, reading this word only warmed the Lemurian's heart more, and he tucked the letter into his journal before beginning a log entry himself.

_End of two-month journey. Perhaps my feelings are not so one-sided as I believed. I will be most glad to return on the next supply run for the resistance._

_Note: Purchase copious amounts of meat._

_**The End.**_

* * *

Holy mother of god, that was a long oneshot… And to think, I didn't even know if I would be able to write it or not. But there you go, Droory; I also killed two birds with one stone since you once said you'd like to see me write something with no fluff. No, it isn't a dark story, but it isn't fluffy either. Just angsty and hopefully not too unrealistic! Anyway, that's enough writing for one day…twenty-one friggin' pages...what the hell…

_-GengaJupite_


End file.
